Nicholls professor to teach in Paris

A mass communication professor at Nicholls State University has been invited to a school in Paris as a guest lecturer.

Matthew AlbrightStaff Writer

A mass communication professor at Nicholls State University has been invited to a school in Paris as a guest lecturer. Andrew Simoncelli will visit the Pole Universitaire Leonard de Vinci as part of the school's International Week when teachers from all over the world come to lecture on their areas of expertise. The French school often uses lecturers from the University of Louisiana System, which includes Nicholls. Simoncelli is one of several Louisiana professors who will be visiting."It's kind of strange that I got picked," Simoncelli said. "All the proposals are for business and engineering, and I'm a mass communication professor."Simoncelli, who studies social media, will lecture on how businesses use sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to attract customers and build a following. He'll talk, for example, about how TV networks use those sites to get more viewers, both on TV and their websites."Sites like these are driving the way young adults communicate with their friends and peers," Simoncelli wrote in the abstract that won him a spot in the trip."Simoncelli said the French school is paying for the trip and his expenses. To turn the trip into a working holiday, he's bringing his father along."Traveling is much more fun when you have somebody to do it with," Simoncelli said. "I'm going to be teaching, but you know you can't just stay in the school when you're in Paris. So we're going to get to do some sightseeing." Simoncelli is a veteran traveler. He taught at the French school two years ago, and he runs a blog called "Roving Professor," where he has catalogued trips all over the U.S. and Europe."I love travelling because it expands your horizons," Simoncelli. "It lets you see things you never thought you'd see."